ON LOCATION:
on location is FIXER’s MAGAZINE section dedicated to highlight Venezuelan photographers working on a life assignment far from home. migration is a Venezuelan reality embraced from many different reasons and through many different processes, but with one thing in common for every venezuelan: the feeling of displacement.
we focus here on photography that has nurtured from leaving behind life as expected and faced new realities. the use of gray as this section’s color is an analogy to all of those shades of gray we’ve had to make ours while facing new environments.
BETO GUTIÉRREZ
caracas, venezuela —> BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
How was your artistic journey from Caracas
to Argentina
and how Buenos Aires shaped your photographic voice?
In February 2011, I emigrated to Buenos Aires, marking a significant division in my photography journey. My story began in Caracas in 1997, where I explored photography organically, influenced by curiosity and a lack of structured paths. Initially focused on fashion photography, I studied under Fran Beaufrand at Imagomundi and had my first solo exhibition in 2001 at Al Trote bar, which was pivotal in my development. My time at the Nelson Garrido Organization greatly shaped my aesthetic until 2011. Moving to Buenos Aires in my 30s presented new challenges; I had to rediscover my footing in a different artistic environment. I even ventured into Cinematography to deepen my understanding of light and started teaching workshops with María Antonia Rodríguez. We later founded La ONG Buenos Aires, which broadened our connections regionally. My experience as a migrant transformed my approach to photography, particularly as a portraitist, using the medium to foster connections. Buenos Aires exposed me to a vibrant art scene and impactful exhibitions, yet also prompted me to reflect on my own practices against the backdrop of Argentina's strong documentary tradition and political discourse. This richness in debate has encouraged me to rethink and deepen my artistic perspective.
Do you see elements of your Venezuelan roots
in the way you frame the world today?
Definitely, although I've lived in Buenos Aires for more than a decade, my perspective is still conditioned by my visual experience in Venezuela. My training and deepest references come from there. My teachers, my earliest influences, the images that shaped me—all of this continues to accompany me.
I think my visual language was already defined before I migrated and has remained more or less stable over time. In my portraits, for example, there are certain constants: the frontal framing, the neutral background, the close-up of the face. Likewise, in my other projects, I'm aware that I make decisions or bring themes into play inspired by a certain conceptual tradition of Venezuelan art, such as my interest in the device.
I've also developed some projects based on the country's political and economic crisis, such as the video "La huntada [sic]" or the series "Noche americana (Day for Night)."
In any case, it's impossible for me to pinpoint how much Buenos Aires has influenced my photography because today we are inevitably influenced by a global, unfortunately homogenizing visuality. How much of what impacts me comes from the local context, and how much do I receive through my cell phone screen from the other side of the world? That's an unanswerable question.
Looking back at your time at Organization Nelson Garrido,
what is the biggest lesson you carry with you in your professional work today?
From the ONG, I retain a strong aesthetic influence and an interest in the margins, although over time that notion has changed for me. I believe that the marginal has lost its transgressive charge. What once made me uncomfortable has now become consumable and absorbed by social media trends. Perhaps it's something each generation thinks of the next.
In my case, I think I would never have made a work like "Water Sports" or "Copper That Tastes Like Gold" if Nelson Garrido hadn't been in my path.
My interest in going against the grain continues, albeit in a more reflective way. Today, I'm interested in the spiritual because, in an increasingly materialistic world, the spiritual seems to be what is truly marginal. And that's where I find the questions that challenge me today. How do we represent what, by nature, is unrepresentable and requires us to distance ourselves from the accelerated and superficial flow of things?
what would you tell your younger
self when you first picked up a camera?
The first thing I would tell you is that in a few years, something called digital photography will be coming out, so I would recommend you enjoy the analog world as much as you can.
I would also tell you that daring to become a photographer will be one of the best decisions of your life. Trust that impulse that drives you to pick up a camera and study. I've been taking photos for 25 years and I still don't feel like a photographer.
As for migrating, I would tell you to surrender to the process of making Buenos Aires your home. I'm really enjoying myself in this new setting. I know there are things I'll never fit in with; for example, I'll never like soccer. I'm the worst Argentinian at that, but in other ways, I'm pretty good, even better than a native. And that excites me.
Beto Gutiérrez
caracas, venezuela —> Buenos aires, argentina
Photographer, visual artist and teacher based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Exhibitions: Beto has participated in numerous exhibitions, including “American Night” at Carmen Araujo Arte in Caracas (2019), “Links” at the 3rd San José Foto International Photography Festival (Uruguay, 2018), and “Draft of an Intervened Body” at Fundación ArtexArte (Argentina, 2018). Other notable exhibitions include “Anti-Ready Made” at Espacio Monitor (Venezuela, 2017), “The Forms of Fire” at Galería D'Museo (Venezuela, 2016), and the “18th Salón Jóvenes” where he won the Second Prize (Caracas, 2015). He has also showcased his work at various international venues, including “Transnational(s)” in Guatemala (2011) and “ECO Meeting” in Spain (2010).
Publications: Gutiérrez's work has been featured in several publications like “Panorámica. Emerging Art in Venezuela 2000-2012” (Fundación Telefónica, 2014), “ECO: Encounter + Exhibition of Ibero-American and European Photography Collectives” (2011), and “Body Politics: Body Politics in Latin American Photography” (2009). Additionally, he has contributed to various specialized magazines and catalogs on contemporary art.
INSTAGRAM / WEBSITE
Portrait by Juan peraza
